Centrifugal apparatus



July 6, 1937. E. ROBERTS y CENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS" Filed July 22, 1935 Patented July 6, 1937 oEN'rarrUGAr. APPARATUS Eugene Roberts, Hastings, N. Y., assignor to The Western States Machine Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Utah Application July 22,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to centrifugal apparatus of the type commonly 4used for separating the mother liquor from the solid particles contained therein, a type which is commonly used in sugar 5 factories or chemical plants in which it is the practice to suspend a perforated centrifugal basket to revolve inside an enclosing curb or casing, the top of the casing and the top of the basket being open to facilitate access to the interior of the basket for the purpose of loading the centrifugal, observing it while in operation and unloading the contents after centrifuging' is completed.

In such centrifugals there is a strong uprush of air through the open top of the curb, which air is both hot and moist due to the vapor or fumes produced by the continual supply of warm wet material to the basket. This expulsion of hot damp air renders attendance upon the centrifugals unpleasant and sometimes deleterious to the operators, beside creating more or less disturbance to the i'lnely divided spray which is used to wash the walled up material in the basket after the purging has'been completed. Y The object of the present invention is to eliminate these objectionable features and to provide a very simple-and inexpensive construction and. arrangement which is effective for the purpose. In general, the invention comprises an arrangement of a centrifugal basket inside a surrounding casing which is provided, at a convenient location on one side, with a discharge opening leading to an exhaust pipe through which kthe air and vapor laden air inside the curb are exhausted and carried away, while at the same time counteracting or preventing the uprush of air through the open top of the casing.

In the accompanying drawing is illustrated a simple and convenient arrangement embodying thev principles of this-invention, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a suspended centrifugal with its surrounding curb to which is connected intermediate'of its top and bottom an exhaust pipe for serving the intended purposes.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation showing part of a battery of centrifugal machines, each exhaust pipe leading to a manifold exhaust with which is connected an exhaust fan for maintaining the desired circulation. v

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section showing a baffle arrangement at the intake end of the exhaust pipe- The centrifugal machine itself is of a well known type and comprises abasket carrying shaft I to the lower end of which is secured any usual 1935. Serial No. 32,539

(Cl. 21o-67) or well known perforated centrifugal basket 2 having a top partly closed by an annular rim shown at 2"'.

Followingthe usual practice, the basketshaft is suspended from an overhead fixed hanger 6 to permit gyration and is provided with suitable driving means, such as a pulley I and a well known type of external brake 8 which serves to slow down and stop the centrifugal at the requisite intervals.

Surrounding the centrifugal basket, but at a sufficient distance to permit the basket to gyrate when coming up to speed, is a cylindrical casing 9 provided with a top ring or rim I0, leaving a large opening for access to the interior of the basket. At any convenient point, preferably in most cases at the rear opposite the point where the operator stands, I provide an outlet opening in the casing between the top and bottom thereof and connect with this outlet opening an exhaust pipe I I leading to an overhead manifold exhaust I2, which receives the exhaust from all centrifugals of the battery and which leads to an exhaust fan conventionally shown at I5.

A baille arrangement is preferably provided at the outlet opening in the curb to deflect the centrifugally extracted liquid down to the bottom of the curb instead of expelling a portion of it into the lower end of the exhaust pipe. In the present case the baille is shown as comprising spaced overlapping plates that are in staggered relation to one another but any convenient construction of baille that will allow the air to pass freely out of the casing through the exhaust pipe may be used, or the baille may be entirely omitted in cases where it may be preferred to dispense with it. As shown in Fig. 3, the liquid which is centrifugally expelled through the perforated basket wall 2 is prevented from being carried into the exhaust pipe by means of a baille inserted at the intake end of the exhaust pipe II. This baille in the form shown comprises a convergent or funnel-like intake ring I8, in which are mounted a series of baille plates which are preferably slightly concaved and extend vertically in two offset series I9 and 20 in mutually staggered relation, affording ample opportunity for the air to pass through the exhaust conduit while at the same time so disposed as to catch and direct downward into the bottom of the liquid collecting casing 9 the expelled liquid just as does the remainder of the side wall of the casing. The baille plates receive the direct impact of the liquid expelled from the basket and guide the liquid downward, while the funnel-shaped portion of the baille supporting annulus facilitates drainage of liquid to the bottom of the casing.

By creating a suction or partial vacuum in the space between the basket wall and the curb wall it will be seen that the hot moist fumes rising from the interior of the basket are diverted or drawn through the narrow space between the annular open Abasket top and the annular open casing top, so that "the upward flow of such fumes, whether from the basket or from the space surrounding the basket through the open top of the casing, is prevented. This prevents the gumming up of the overhead apparatus beside affording effective protection to thecentrifugal operator from the hot fumes that heretofore have issued through the open top.

What I claim is: c .y f 1. In an apparatusqfor centrifugin-g sugar or like material, the combination of a gyratory centrifugal comprising a perforated open top basket suspended by a central driving spindle, *a xed stationary casing surrounding the ycentrifugal basket in spacedv relation permitting requisite gyration `of the centrifugal and having an annular open top rim overhanging the top rim of the basket and spaced therefrom to provide an unobstructed passage betweensaid rims, an exhaust conduit connected with the casing between the bottom and the top thereof, and means for drawing fumes arising from the interior of the basket through theannular space between the basket rim and the casing rim through said outlet conduit.

2. In a. centrifugal apparatus the combination of ya perforated centrifugal basket, a surrounding casing open at its top, an exhaustA pipe having communication with the vinterior of the casing, means for exhausting air from the casing through said pipe, and a baie device arranged at the intakeend of the exhaust pipe and permitting the inflow of air from the casing while deecting the liquid toward the bottom of the receptacle.

3. In a centrifugal apparatus the combination with a perforated centrifugal basket, a surrounding casing provided with an open top, an exhaust pipe yleading from the side of the casing, means for` exhausting the, air from said casing through said pipe, a liquid bafiie" device located at the intake of said pipe'and comprisingV vertical baflie plates in spaced staggered relationship to one another land acting to deflect toward the bottom of the casing the liquid centrifugally expelled from the subtending portion ofthe basket.

EUGENE ROBERTS. 

